The New Kuchiki
by Jaydrabbles
Summary: A new enemy has appeared from Hueco Mundo, targeting Karakura. At Isshin Kurosaki's request, Ichigo has been kept in the dark about the new threat. When the orange haired teen finds himself up against the new threat, a mistake of losing concentration causes Ichigo to revert to an eight year old. Not only that, the only thing he can remember is a certain Kuchiki. ByaIchi.
1. Chapter 1

**This is the first chapter of a story I've started writing, and I'm pretty excited about this one. I love this pairing and I feel like they don't get enough love so here I am to present this to you all. This isn't beta'd so if there are mistakes, I apologize. I hope you enjoy it~**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own bleach or the characters, I only enjoy writing fiction branched from the original plot.**

Karakura town would be a normal town; one of peace, slumber, and joyous days-if not for the constant swarm of hollows. A town with as much reitsu as Karakura was rare. This detail tends to bring about many undesirable interruptions in the citizens' lives. Hollows tend to make things more difficult for humans, as well as shinigami. Shinigami have to take care of every hollow residing in the human world, and so can't stay in one spot like Kakakura. Even so, when a shinigami does visit Karakura, it seems as if the town's reitsu grows-which results in more hollows. This had been a problem, as attacks by an invisible force worried the citizens. Karakura needed a protector, and that is where a certain orange haired teen comes in.

Ichigo Kurosaki, substitute soul reaper, was at home when he felt before he heard the presence of a hollow. He was sitting in a chair across from his sister Yuzu, pretending to listen to her. The orange haired teen raised his head toward the window he sat next to, making it obvious he hadn't been paying much attention. He looked without really seeing the cars pass by or the people walking to and fro. The one thing he could notice was the almost Quincy-like color of the sky. Ichigo's chocolate eyes narrowed at the sight, and he found the sudden urge to see what was going on within his town.

The small motherly sibling before him had been rambling to her older brother about her twin Karin, who was at soccer practice. The usually calm and kind girl's face was flushed with anger as she ranted. Yuzu's voice was loud compared to her usual quietness, so anyone within the house could hear her rant. Well, they could if there had been anyone else within the house. Their father had gone for a run to the store while Kurosaki Clinic was desolate of patients. This left the substitute shinigami to bare the brunt of Yuzu's pent up anger, or at least appear to do so. Ichigo, who still had yet to move from his seat near the window, had completely blocked Yuzu out. The orange haired male's head snapped back to look at his younger sister, who hadn't even noticed Ichigo's lack of attention. Yuzu's voice finally reached Ichigo's ears once more as the substitute shinigami shifted in his chair.

"... And she won't even apologize to me!" Yuzu huffed, her face seeming to grow even redder. Ichigo could see the shiny glaze within his younger sister's eyes, the telltale sign she was about to cry. The orange haired male scratched the back of his head as an awkward silence enveloped the pair. Ichigo was usually good at consoling his sisters, but because he hadn't been paying attention, he wasn't sure how to go about comforting Yuzu. The small brunette stared at her older brother expectantly, and Ichigo's silence made the small girl realize he hadn't paid attention to her at all. Before Ichigo could say anything, Yuzu began to stomp off angrily, wiping away tears from her cheeks as she did so. As the girl began to make her way to the door, their overzealous father burst in the doorway. He still had his medic coat on over his clothes, which made him seem normal, if only for a split second. Isshin stood in a lunge position, blocking the doorway Yuzu wanted to go through.

"Daddy's homeeeee!" The middle aged man shouted, his eyes squeezed shut and a large grin on his face. Isshin was carrying a few bags with groceries, all filled with seemingly random items. Yuzu's eyes narrowed at the man standing in her way, and she waited for a moment before kicking him so hard the dark haired man doubled over in pain. Grocery items scattered the area in front of the door as Isshin dropped the bags he had had in his arms. The small brunette then continued her walk out of the house, bewildering her brother and leaving their father a weeping mess on the floor. The groceries that once inhabited the bag now lay strewn upon the floor, crowded around the middle aged man who was animatedly weeping and muttering incoherently about his daughter. Isshin crawled his way from the doorway to directly below the large poster hung on the wall of their mother.

"Oh my dear Masaki, Yuzu has now turned against me too! What is a man to do when all his children use him as punching bags?!" Isshin wailed, crying profusely as he clung to the poster. Ichigo sighed exasperatedly at his father's antics before he felt the same hollow reitsu flare up. It had been his father's own fault he didn't even notice his own daughter was in a bad mood.

Ichigo rose from the seat he had been in for about twenty to thirty minutes, he wasn't sure. He had lost track of time. Isshin quieted as Ichigo began to make his way toward the stairs, and his father observed him from behind with a rare seriousness.

"Ichigo." Isshin spoke quietly, catching the teens attention. Ichigo stood in place, not bothering to look back at his father. A pregnant silence enveloped the room as Isshin calculated how he should say what he wanted to say. He spoke once more before Ichigo could get impatient enough to continue ascending the stairs without hearing what he had to say.

"Be careful. Something isn't right out there." The dark haired man stated, causing Ichigo to look back. It wasn't what Isshin has wanted to say, but he was sure Ichigo understood. The teen nodded once in assurance, resolve evident within his eyes. His eyes almost seemed to shine with sheer power.

"Always am." Ichigo responded, a small smirk appearing on his face. Isshin watched the teen finish walking his way up to his room before he let a small sigh escape from his lips. The middle aged man took one look back at his late wife, his eyes going soft.

"That damn soul society can't do anything I ask, can it? He was supposed to be kept out of this." Isshin muttered darkly, pulling himself up from his seat on the floor. The father gathered up the groceries strewn across the floor and closed the front door, sitting them in their respective place in the kitchen. The man took a glance up, toward the sky he couldn't see as he felt Ichigo's reitsu distance itself from the Kurosaki household, and he sighed once more. Isshin made his way back to the clinic, flipping the closed sign over to open. Nothing like work to keep a father from worrying about his son.

 **—**

Ichigo ran upstairs after his father was done speaking with him. The seriousness of the conversation they had worried Ichigo twice as much. He was terrible at sensing reitsu, and yet he felt a hollow's of all things. That, on top of Isshin's unusual statement, had the orange haired teen's nerves on end.

Ichigo entered his room hastily, groaning as he saw no sight of Kon anywhere. The stuffed lion was never there when he was actually needed. Ichigo rushed from his room to Yuzu's, hoping his sister had grabbed the lion some time today. As soon as he entered the room, he was attacked by the bawling stuffed lion.

"Ichigooooo! Look at me! Look what she did!" Kon wailed miserably, hugging the orange haired male's face as tight as his plush body would allow. The stuffed lion was dressed head to toe in pink lace, topped with a blonde ringlet wig stitched to his mane. Ichigo pulled the squeaky animal off his face in irritation, a scowl planted firmly on his face. Kon was oblivious as he continued to weep about his new physical appearance curtesy Yuzu Kurosaki, his small arms waving frantically to further portray his feelings. Ichigo would usually take the time to laugh at the mod soul's new look, but he was too worried and focused on the hollow presence to bother pushing Kon's buttons.

"I don't have time for your whining right now, open up." Ichigo growled, shoving his fingers into the stuffed lion's mouth. Kon gurgled a protest, but it fell on deaf ears as the teen finally gripped the mod Soul candy within the plush toy. The toy went limp in Ichigo's hands as he pulled the candy from it, and the sudden silence managed to put the substitute shinigami further on edge. He hurriedly swallowed the candy, his soul pushing out of his body as Kon woke within his. Kon looked at his new body and the original inhabiter in surprise before he grinned wickedly.

"Don't do anything stupid." Ichigo demanded without turning to look at his body, shunpoing out of the opened window within Yuzu's room. Kon watched the black clad teen disappear, huffing at the notion he of all people would do something stupid.

Ichigo's shinigami attire clung to him as he shunpoed in the direction of the hollow reitsu. As he drew nearer, he could feel a familiar reitsu in the same area. As he made his way to the battle, the sky seemed even bluer than at his own home, and as he arrived he understood why.

"Uryū!" Ichigo shouted, pulling Zangetsu from his back. The bandages surrounding the large blade unraveled and shrank as he did so, revealing a gleaming black blade. The Quincy turned long enough to glare at the substitute shinigami, his glasses reflecting the sunlight and temporarily blocking his eyes from Ichigo's view. The Quincy turned back to the enemy in front of him, pulling Ichigo's attention to the hollow as well. It was not only a hollow, but an arrancar. It had no visible number, and was completely unfamiliar to Ichigo. The orange haired shinigami was practically gaping in disbelief. He watched as Uryū and the arrancar danced around each other, sending attack after attack in each other's direction. They were almost evenly matched, which surprised Ichigo. The arrancar was fast, and the orange haired male hadn't realized Uryū had grown so much in the time they hadn't spoken.

Ichigo immediately noticed the Quincy was slowing down in mere seconds. The orange haired male was unsure how long their battle had been going, but Ishida's stamina was worn. The dark haired male was going on the defensive as the Espada began overpowering him. Ichigo rose his zanpakuto, staring calculatedly at the enemy before releasing a large wave of getsuga tenshou at him. It barely grazed the lithe figure and simply crashed into the nearest building. It hadn't served to be very useful as an attack, but was effective in catching the enemy's attention. The arrancar turned to him, large silver eyes glaring at him. The Quincy behind him kept his bow drawn at his direction, but was panting heavily as his arms visibly shook from the tension and fatigue within his muscles. Uryū would never say so, but he was glad to see the substitute shinigami butt in to his fight. The Quincy wouldn't have lasted much longer without intervention.

The arrancar had long, silver hair, a broken white horse mouth-bit along the right side of his mouth-the remaining pieces of his previous hollow mask. The white chain of the bit connected to a halter which wrapped around a horse ear along the right side of his face. Both horse ears were a dark grey, spotted with light silver areas that blended into his hair. The arrancar stood almost as tall as Nnoitora the Quinto Espada, if not taller. Both stood at a standstill to observe one another before battle. Ichigo could tell the arrancar would be a fast opponent, and the large thorn-like whip in his hand made Ichigo realize he was at a disadvantage. His enemy was a long distance fighter.

The lithe figure disappeared from Ichigo's vision in a split second, causing the substitute shinigami to panic. He relied solely on his instinct and zangetsu's guidance as he himself was put on defensive, his shunpo not quick enough to keep up with the arrancar in Shikai.

 _Zangetsu..._

 ** _Keep fighting Ichigo. If you concentrate you can seek his spirit ribbon out and keep up with his movements. Do not fail._**

Ichigo let his eyes slip closed as he began searching for the violent and dark spirit ribbon of the arrancar circling him. He sensed it just as the silver haired hollow slashed at him with a spike covered whip. Ichigo blocked it, the grey weapon retreating back to its owner. The duo exchanged a series of attacks as the substitute Soul reaper's instinct put him back on par with the arrancar. With the advantage he once had, Ichigo's enemy was continually growing frustrated. They were dead even at the moment. Both fighters took a few steps back to observe their opponents, their breathing ragged and loud. Uryū stood off to the side rigidly, attempting to regain his composure. He was anticipating any moment of attack in his direction, even though the arrancar seemed to be more interested in Ichigo at the moment. Just as Ichigo began to charge at the tall arrancar, the intimidating presence of Byakuya Kuchiki became apparent. He was rushing into the fight with shunpou, just as Ichigo had done earlier.

"Ichigo Kuros-" The Head of the Kuchiki clan spoke, his voice faltering as the orange haired teen looked in his direction in surprise. The arrancar took the opportunity to lunge at the substitute shinigami, his whip headed directly for Ichigo's chest. The orange haired male ducked in time to miss the majority of the attack, but felt the sharp pain of one of the spikes dragging into his forehead directly above his right eyebrow.

"Kurosaki!" Byakuya and Uryū shouted in unison, their eyes wide with shock as the teen shunpoued away from the arrancar to regain his bearings. The arrancar glowed a bright blue, laughing maniacally. He grinned maliciously at the substitute shinigami, his whip curling in his hand on command.

"You're a strong soul. Even that small amount of reitsu has satisfied me for now. But I will be back soon." The arrancar stated, his voice low and gravelly-almost a growl. The high level hollow opened a gargantua and disappeared within it before any of the three could react. As the tear in the sky closed, Ichigo collapsed. The Quincy stared dumbly at his unconscious friend nearing the harsh pavement below, but the Kuchiki heir resumed his composure quickly enough to shunpo toward the orange haired teen. Uryū thought Ichigo seemed oddly...small from the height he was at as the captain of squad six caught him. When the Quincy returned his feet back to normal ground, he was as dumbfounded as the captain before him seemed to be. Ichigo was smaller than before. Much smaller than before.

"He's-he's a child." Uryū muttered, his eyes widened in astonishment. Byakuya could only nod grimly. Ichigo needed help, quickly.


	2. Chapter 2

_Helloooo! Welcome newcomers, followers, and others, to this little story! I have been absent on pretty much everything for a while now and I haven't really updated any of my stories, including this one, and I want to apologize. I will try to work to do better, as I really do love this story and what I've worked toward with it. I hope you enjoy this chapter, even if it is a little smaller than the previous. While here, I decided I would take the time to reply to my reviews of the first chapter on this chapter. If you do not wish to read them, skip right on down to the disclaimer and warnings._

 _lavi-lover: Thank you, I am trying to make this fic as original as possible while still staying true to the fic I gained inspiration from. I don't want them to be the exact same for obvious reasons, but I want to remember that I started with this idea because of someone else's idea. I hope this story meets your expectations to the end._

 _AkemiRyuShuici: Thanks! I always try and keep the details in my story interesting :) I love your guess, but that's not quite what I had in mind. You'll see just how Ichigo's memory plays out in the next chapter. And of course I have to have Zangetsu and Shirosaki protecting Ichigo! Shiro would never let anyone harm his king, especially at such a small age. (Don't worry, Shiro is one of my favorite ways to refer to him too ;) )_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable within this story. It all goes to its rightful owner and author.**_

 _ **Warnings: This story contains slash, yaoi, M/M-whatever you'd like to list it as. This will be an eventual ByaIchi fic, and will contain mature content in later chapters. If that is not something you are interested in reading, I suggest you read no further. Thank you for your time~**_

Byakuya was in complete disarray, which was an unusual feat. He appeared normal on the outside, but his mind was reeling with questions as he sat rigidly in the tacky Urahara Shop. He had immediately taken the child Ichigo to one Kisuke Urahara, the ex-captain of squad 11. The usually happy man looked perplexed and worried as he took sight of the teen, who they could no longer call a teen. The blond shinigami took the boy with only one question-what had happened? Byakuya told him as much as he could, but let Uryū Ishida do most of the talking. The Quincy had witnessed more of the battle.

The head of the Kuchiki Clan was currently awaiting news of what the substitute shinigami's fate was. Fate being: if he was permanently stuck as a child soul or if it was fingernails dug into his palms as he waited, the Kuchiki head blatantly irritated with himself. The raven haired male couldn't help but feel he was in part at fault for Ichigo Kurosaki's predicament. He had called out to the substitute soul reaper in order to try and remove the boy from the situation, as he had been ordered to keep the teen from this particular arrancar, but had only succeeded in breaking the teen's focus which resulted in a hit by the new threat that had arisen. Byakuya Kuchiki felt a faint twang of guilt despite himself.

The arrancar had appeared almost three months ago, and each of its victims unlucky enough to take a direct hit had been stripped of their reitsu. It had been theorized by Captain Kurotsuchi that only those with immense power could walk away from a battle with said arrancar with any reitsu at all. Weaker opponents reverted back to average souls with no appetite, reitsu, or zanpakuto. Either way, no one had wanted to test such a theory but maybe the insane captain himself.

Isshin Kurosaki, formerly known as Isshin Shiba, had requested the Gotei 13 do everything within their ability to keep Ichigo from the new threat, and they had agreed the request was a smart decision. Ichigo possessed an immense amount of spiritual pressure that he could not yet control, so everyone believed a run in with this arrancar could prove disastrous for the orange haired male.

Byakuya Kuchiki couldn't help but grimace at the thought of being subjected to that middle-aged neanderthal's wrath if Ichigo Kurosaki's state was unfixable. Isshin has always been an undesirable force to reckon with, but when his children were involved the man's temper seemed to grow even more undesirable.

The raven haired male was so consumed with his thoughts that he hadn't noticed Kisuke Urahara walk back into the room, his fan planted firmly in one hand and his zanpakuto in the other. Almost an entire minute had passed with Byakuya thoroughly preoccupied with his thoughts. The blond ex-captain finally cleared his throat, catching the Kuchiki's attention. A faint blush appeared on the Kuchiki, but his piercing eyes made the embarrassment seem insignificant.

"Before anything is explained to you, a certain someone is in need of your attention." The scientist stated pleasantly, and Byakuya narrowed his eyes at the man before him. The noble didn't like the way that sounded. Either way, Byakuya rose from his sitting position and followed Kisuke further back into the shop. He assumed he was being taken to a part of the man's lab he had never gotten to see before, but oddly found himself being pushed into a small bedroom. Inside the room was a flustered Quincy, Jinta, Tessai, Ururu, and a large-eyed tiny Ichigo. The small orange haired boy was too busy laughing at Jinta to hear or notice the door open. The orange haired child hung on Uryū's neck, making the calm and collected teen blush faintly. Kisuke ushered in Byakuya Kuchiki, who took notice of Ichigo Kurosaki's odd behavior immediately. The teen never laughed so freely, even when he did laugh. It was the laughter of a child. As soon as Byakuya took notice of Ichigo, the small boy noticed him in return. The boy still had his shihakusho, but it was proportioned to his new stature, as was Zangetsu, whose guard-less hilt poked out over the boy's shoulder.

"Kuchiki-san!" Ichigo suddenly shouted, his grin widening impossibly more so. Byakuya stared in shock at the nickname, watching passively as the orange haired boy climbed off of Uyrū and raced across the mattress. Ichigo leapt into Byakuya's arms, who caught the small child instinctively. Everyone within the room held their breath in anticipation for what Byakuya would do once he processed the clear affection Ichigo possessed and showed to the cold heir. Byakuya could not very well throw the child, but as he did not desire the affection, the captain proceeded to hold Ichigo at arm's length. He looked to Kisukue as if expecting an answer to why the child Ichigo was so adamant about affection toward him, but before the blond could speak, an unfamiliar soul appeared. The sound of zanpakutos being unsheathed filled the silence of the room, but no action took place as Ichigo jumped from Byakuya's grip and into the soul's arms. Ichigo hugged the man tightly, and as he did so Byakuya studied him meticulously. The man was of a tall stature, with billowing robes making his height seemingly endless. His face was full of sharp, angular features smoothed by the hint of facial hair and soft brown eyes. He seemed oddly familiar to the captain, but he couldn't quite place a name to the face. The stranger was oddly affectionate toward the young Ichigo, which brought about suspicion for Byakuya. If it was a soul, who Ichigo was familiar with and vice versa, then the soul had to be his zanpakuto.

"Zan'etsu, this is Kuchiki-san right?" Ichigo asked, confirming Byakuya's suspicion. Upon recognition of the name, everyone within the room relaxed. Questions were circling in Byakuya's brain, considering he had met Ichigo's zanpakuto before. But this was not the man he remembered. This soul was much younger compared to the Zangetsu he was familiar with. Kisuke walked closer to the pair, scrutinizing the physical manifestation of the zanpakuto. It seemed Byakuya was not the only one with questions. The Kuchiki heir sheathed Senbonzakura, no longer worried about a threat within the room. Everyone within the room waited impatiently for Zangetsu to reply, and only when he looked toward the single captain in the room did he. His eyes hardened as they gazed at the Kuchiki heir, the brown no longer soft as it had been for Ichigo.

"Yes Ichigo, Captain Kuchiki-san will be the one who will care for you when I am unavailable." Zangetsu replied, watching satisfactorily as Byakuya's eyes widened considerably. Ichigo grinned boyishly, unaware of the newfound tension within the room.

"Well, this sure is interesting." Kisuke mused aloud, his incessant fanning continuing as he spoke.

"I do believe Kuchiki-san, Zangetsu, and I need to have a little chat alone Ichigo. Do you mind staying here with Uyruu and Jinta?" The blond shopkeeper asked, leaning in toward the orange haired boy's face. The closeness caused Ichigo to giggle and swat for the fan, but Kisuke moved back quick enough for his fan to be out of reach for the child. Ichigo pouted momentarily, but wriggled from Zangetsu's grasp. As the boy wormed his way to the ground, he began giggling again. The small child began to shunpo around the room, baffling everyone watching him.

"Jinta, chase me!" The child shouted, his giggles turning to cackling as he waited in the doorway for Jinta to follow him. The redhead raised an eyebrow at Ichigo, appearing bored with the offer.

"Why should I?" The redhead inquired, yawning obnoxiously before leaning back cockily in the chair he sat in. His weight caused the chair to lean back dangerously, Jinta's feet being the only thing balancing the chair so it would remain upright. Ichigo frowned at the boy, but Byakuya saw that familiar fire in his amber eyes. In the blink of an eye, Ichigo shunpoed to Jinta and pushed his already leaning chair enough to tip it over. The redhead fell with the chair, and a loud yelp resounded within the room as the chair crashed to the floor. Laughter bounced along the walls, Ichigo standing proudly over his achievement.

"Because you can't catch me!" Ichigo declared, his laughter still ringing in Byakuya's ears as the orange haired boy took off with Jinta right behind him. It appeared Ichigo was able to push the fiery redhead's buttons, which wasn't a hard task. Ururu and Tessai followed behind shortly, the former worried for Ichigo and the latter worried for the condition of the shop. Uryuu stared at the three other remaining occupants of the room, his mouth formed into a straight thin line. They all gazed at the quincy expectantly, waiting to speak until he left.

"I expect to be kept in the loop, he's my friend too. My leaving does not grant you the right to keep important information regarding Ichigo from me." Uryuu stated flatly, glaring at each one of them before gliding out of the room gracefully.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Okay, so it's been almost a year since I've updated this story. I'm so sorry for that. I had a lot on my plate and couldn't take the time to invest myself in every story I have up right now. It was easier for me to focus on the easy plots because I wanted to make sure I did my plot for this story properly and in a way I can be proud of. I now have the time to invest myself back into this plot and get this story rolling. Thank you all for being so patient with me!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or the characters, I just like to make fanfiction. The credits due go to their rightful owners.**_

* * *

Kisuke, Byakuya, and Zangetsu were each well aware of the tension within the room. It was thick enough to cut with a knife, and well past suffocating. Pride prevented the men from breaking the silence, and left the owner of the shop they resided in to watch a captain and a zanpakuto clash. Kisuke was beginning to grow aggravated at Byakuya Kuchiki's insufferable ability to make any situation tense. The blone ex-captain flicked his fan open again, the first sound made since the room's door clicked shut. This immediately turned all eyes onto the scientist, who seemed completely unaffected by the atmosphere.

"His condition is unchangeable for now because of his depleted reitsu." Kisuke announced, glancing at Byakuya to watch his reaction. The heir's eyes widened a fraction, but otherwise he remained stoic.

 _Depleted?_

"You mean-"

"Yes, he has reitsu, foolish Captain. I wouldn't be here otherwise." Zangetsu's tone was cold and calculating, with a hint of an all too familiar Kurosaki-like anger leeching into his words. Byakuya glared at the physical manifestation of Ichigo's zanpakuto, disliking the attitude coming from him. The Kuchiki heir could see clearly he was not the only one who blamed himself for Ichigo's predicament. As tension skyrocketed with Zangetsu's harsh words, Kisuke Urahara sighed dramatically behind his fan. This was going to be an interesting time for poor Ichigo.

"Now now, this isn't the time to be fighting, Kuchiki-san and Zangetsu-san," The scientist chided, his innocent voice steeling something inside the two other members. That voice was dangerous coming from Ichigo's mentor, anyone acquainted with him would know. Two pairs of angry eyes turned to the exiled captain, who's own eyes were shadowed by his signature hat.

"Ichigo Kurosaki is dear to many people's hearts, which is precisely why so many worked for him to regain his shinigami powers. Everyone involved to catch this viscous new arrancar had decided to keep him from the case for fear of him losing his abilities he only recently recovered."

Byakuya felt another pang of guilt enter his heart as Urahara spoke. As the leader of the investigation surrounding this new arrancar, he was at fault for letting the brash teenager anywhere near such a powerful creature. Foolish boy, he never should have rushed into battle. Isshin Kurosaki had obviously never taught his son any common sense. The Kuchiki heir's frown twitched at the thought. Isshin had never had much common sense either, so in the end he couldn't have expected much.

"Despite this, it is no surprise that Ichigo wormed his way into a fight he had no business in. That's just who he is, we all know that."

Kisuke snapped the fan shut and rose his head up a fraction so he could make eye contact with his audience. Byakuya's frown deepened, while Zangetsu simply remained impassive.

"It seems our little strawberry has regressed in size and mind to accommodate for his loss of reitsu. When I say mind, I mean he acts like a seven year old, he has no recollection of any of us. But his zanpakuto clearly does. This leads me to believe he allowed his core to retain this information, but he himself will not access it. Is that right, Zangetsu?"

The zanpakuto's eyes shifted from their lock on Kisuke and moved back to the rigid form of the Kuchiki heir. He sighed and closed his eyes, the vision of his master's inner world flashing across his eyes as he did so. The deadly silence of the water lulling against an endless sea of skyscrapers filled his senses, as it has for quite some time now.

"Yes." The affirmation was quiet, almost too quiet to hear. It was completely inaudible to the speaker himself.

"Ichigo is willingly repressing his memories so his body can heal without stress," Zangetsu explained, opening his eyes as he felt the Kuchiki's own eyes boring into him. The rush of water continued to impair his hearing, although it lessened steadily as his eyes regained their focus.

"He has been trying to fix his mind since I was returned to him, trying to pull his inner world from the ocean he placed it in. He is now an adult, living on his own. For a while, he has been coping without the people he came to depend on for quite some time. His memories won't return until he's ready, unfortunately."

Kisuke sighed once more, his head falling back down a fraction to cover his eyes. He had feared as much.

Byakuya remained quiet, unsure of what to do with this newfound information. He had never known Ichigo Kurosaki to be anything other than strong, and annoyingly so. To hear that Kurosaki's mental state had deteriorated in the time it took the soul society to find a way to return his reitsu came as a shock. Their silence did more damage than they had expected. The thought left Byakya in discomfort.

"I see. That is a problem he must face himself, so he may understand that those who love him had never truly left him. For now, we must focus on what we can do for our Ichigo," Kisuke replied, his voice softer than it had once been. The blonde scientist turned his back on the two, facing the door. "Captain Kuchiki, I'm afraid I must ask you to do us all a favor. Zangetsu here has somehow talked little Ichigo into trusting you more than anyone else. He must be kept safe in the Soul Society, where his reitsu can replenish quickly and with no interference. Can you take him in for an undetermined amount of time?"

The Kushiki heir's heart stopped briefly. Could he take care of a child? He was not the ideal choice, he couldn't give a child the love and comfort they often needed. He was emotionally detached, while this child version of Ichigo was carefree and absolutely exploding with emotion. The heir could feel Zangetsu's eyes burning into him, daring him to say no. He understood. This was his punishment, provided by the zanpakuto.

"Yes, I can accommodate for him in the manor," Byakuya replied, feeling it would be the least he could do for the former ryoka. He was indebted to the brash teen, after all.

Within moments of his answer, the captain was left alone in the room. The tension remained behind, lingering unpleasantly around Byakuya. The thick air suffocated him slightly, and yet he remained. He glanced around the small room, feeling lost for the umpteenth time that day. Rukia would have been a much more suitable caretaker, or even his lieutenant. Renji Abari was brash, yes, but he was good with kids. The captain of squad six shook his head, ridding himself of the harboring thoughts. Now was not the time to dwell on his decision. He was not a stranger to taking on more than he could handle, and he was positive he would do this properly. He had to.

Byakuya entered the common area of the shop, shunpoing out of the way as a cackling Ichigo ran past in a blur. Jinta followed suit, only seconds behind the orange blur.

"W-Wait! Jinta, don't hurt him," Ururu called out meekly as she chased after the two. Tessai watched impassively, not willing to jump in between the children's banter. There was no sign of the quincy, which left Byakuya to wonder if Kisuke had said something in the time it took him to exit from the bedroom.

With a quick glance at his new charge, Byakuya knew they would have to leave the world of the living relatively soon. Ichigo was exhausting what little reitsu present surrounding the shop just by playing with Jinta. His lip quirked down in the formation of a frown. Leaving before Isshin Kurosaki caught wind of his son's predicament would also be ideal.

* * *

[2 HOURS LATER]

Byakuya Kuchiki stared at a sleeping toddler Ichigo Kuchiki. The orange haired boy's frame was swallowed by his Shihakusho, Zangetsu in blade form laying next to his owner. The Kuchiki head hesitated for a moment at the sight. Youth was rare in the soul society, but innocent youth was practically non-existent. Children have little innocence to hold onto in a place such as the Soul Society. To see a soul with such purity, especially in Kurosaki, was no less than extraordinary. The sight made the soul reaper reluctant to wake Ichigo. But they had to leave. His exhaustion wouldn't ever get better without the proper amount of reitsu surrounding him.

"Kur-Ichigo," Byakuya muttered, correcting himself as he gently shook the toddler awake. The boy was not receptive to his calls unless he used his first name. Bleary brown eyes peeked up at him, a soft smile thrown at the captain. The boy stretched, arching his back much like a cat. With a small yawn and a few blinks, Ichigo finally sat up. Exhaustion was painted on the boy's face, his eyelids constantly drooping back down.

"Byakuya-kun," Ichigo murmured, grabbing onto his Haori. The boy slumped onto his leg, much to Byakuya's discomfort. He stood still, staring at the exhausted toddler for a few moments. The sound of soft snores pulled him from his stature and he sighed in defeat. He scooped the small boy into his arms and picked up his zanpakuto, walking out of the small room so he could give his farewells. As he found Urahara, he was vaguely displeased to see Yuroichi with him.

"Oh look at this precious sight," Yuroichi cooed, slipping from her seat and prowling up to the two. Byakuya scowled, his temper rising with each step she drew nearer. Something about Yuroichi's mere presence always threatened to unravel all of the Kuchiki's self control.

"He is still exhausted, Urahara-san. I must take him to the Soul Society now," Byakuya informed, pointedly ignoring Yuroichi's presence. Kisuke stared at the two with his head tilted, the shadow of his hat blocking one eye completely as he did so. With a flick of his wrist, his fan bloomed in front of the rest of his face nonchalantly.

"For some reason, Zangetsu is entrusting Ichigo's life to you. Do make sure that trust isn't broken, or you will have many people after your head," Kisuke replied. Byakuya stared unblinkingly for a moment. The warning was clear. He bowed his head in understanding.

"I will not fail Ichigo."

With nothing left to say, Byakuya opened a Senkaimon. He did not look back as he stepped into the light, but he felt Urahara and Yuroichi's eyes on his back as he disappeared with their boy.

He was soon back in the Soul Society, his arms wrapped protectively around Ichigo. Stars shone brightly on the pair as they stood in the barren street. Drunken reapers could be heard distantly, their laughs as pleasant and warm as the summer air. The clan member shunpoed back to his manor, wanting no disturbances until he had Ichigo settled into a comfortable bed.


End file.
